Should those two nouns logically be paired, repeatedly, in the same sentence, so to speak? Depends who you are:
Military Jury: No Jail Time For Interrogator Who Killed Iraqi
[A] military jury in Colorado ruled last night an Army interrogator who killed an Iraqi general would not have to serve any time in jail. The interrogator — Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr. – killed the Iraqi man after putting a sleeping bag over his head, wrapping him in electrical cord, sitting on his chest and covering his mouth. Over the weekend the military jury convicted Welshofer of negligent homicide which carries a maximum prison term of three years. But the jury chose instead to fine him $6,000 and ordered him to spend the next 60 days restricted to his home, office and church.The Los Angeles Times reports soldiers and officers inside the courtroom broke out in applause after the jury announced Welshofer would not be jailed for the killing. (Democracy Now! headlines)
Peace Activist Gets 6 Months in Jail For Recruiting Station Protest
In upstate New York, a peace activist has been sentenced to six months in jail for pouring blood inside a military recruiting station in March 2003 in order to protest the invasion of Iraq. The man, Daniel Burns, 45, was one of a group now known as the St. Patrick’s Four. The other three members will also be sentenced this week. (Democracy Now! headlines)
We can say these punishments are unfair and inequitable. But there really is no logical comparison that can be made between the crimes that could explain — in any rational way — why the second crime merits imprisonment, and the first does not. As the LAT reports:
The sentence was a stunning reprieve for Chief Warrant Officer Lewis E. Welshofer Jr., 43, who a few days ago faced possible life in prison and the dubious distinction of being the highest-ranking soldier tried on charges of murdering an Iraqi detainee.
How in the name of all we consider right and just can this be how the jury thought?
The jury apparently agreed with defense arguments that Welshofer had believed he was following orders to use creative interrogation techniques when he put Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush face-first in a sleeping bag, wrapped him in electrical wire and sat on his chest in November 2003. The 57-year-old general died after 20 minutes in the bag.
This man wasn’t a flunky. He was an officer. We can easily compare how he CHOSE to react to the remarkably heroic actions of “Hugh Thompson – the former Army helicopter pilot who helped stop the My Lai Massacre in 1968 when U.S. troops slaughtered hundreds of innocent Vietnamese villagers …”
But then, as now, the Army did not punish those who slaughtered the Vietnamese — only one soldier was ever convicted for the killing spree From the introduction. last Wednesday, (January 18, 2006) to Amy Goodman’s interview with former Army Specialist Lawrence Colburn who helped Thompson end the massacre.
We turn now to another American figure of the Vietnam War – Hugh Thompson. As a helicopter pilot, he helped rescue Vietnamese civilians from fellow U.S. troops during the infamous My Lai massacre. Hugh Thompson died last week of cancer. He was 62 years old. … continued below …
On March 16, 1968, Thompson and two other crewmembers landed their helicopter in front of U.S. troops firing on Vietnamese civilians in the village of My Lai. They pointed their guns at their fellow service members to prevent more killings, and helped evacuate the villagers. In a few minutes, we are going to be joined by one of Thompson’s crewmembers. First, we take a look at what happened on March 16th, 1968 by playing an edited excerpt from a documentary produced by Mike Boehm titled “The Sound of the Violin in My Lai.”
Thompson and Lawrence Colburn later testified at the court martial hearings for the massacre of over 300 civilians at My Lai. Only one U.S. soldier, platoon commander Lieutenant William Calley, was convicted. He was court-martialed and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the massacre. Many around the country viewed Calley as a scapegoat. “Rallies for Calley” were held all over the country and Jimmy Carter, then governor of Georgia, urged citizens to leave car headlights on to show support for Calley. President Richard Nixon later commuted Calley’s sentence to three years of house arrest.
Thompson, on the other hand, was shunned for years by fellow soldiers. He received death threats and was once told by a congressman that he was the only American who should be punished over My Lai. Although the My Lai massacre became one of the most infamous atrocities of the Vietnam War, little was known about Hugh Thompson’s actions for decades.
In 1998, Thompson and his two crewmembers, Lawrence Colburn and Glenn Andreotta, were awarded the Soldier’s Medal, the highest US military award for bravery not involving conflict with an enemy. Andreotta’s award was posthumous. He was killed in Vietnam less than a month after My Lai.
Thompson passed away last week after a prolonged battle with cancer. Lawrence Colburn was at his bedside when he died.
You’ll also find particularly poignant the interview with the remarkable Lawrence Colburn by reading the transcript, or — better yet — listening/watching the interview. … a small example:
So at that point, Glenn Andreotta spotted an earthen-type bunker with some faces peering out of it. And there was an approaching squad of Americans. And we — Mr. Thompson decided, and we all decided that if we didn’t do something within the next 30 seconds, these people would die. So he landed the aircraft in between the advancing American troops and the people in the bunker, went over and spoke to a lieutenant and told him — or asked him how we could get these people out of the bunker. They were obviously civilians. And the lieutenant replied he’d get them out with hand grenades. …
And this:
AMY GOODMAN: And you’re the last of the three of you surviving. Glenn Andreotta died in Vietnam right after My Lai. Your thoughts today about the action you took, just in introducing you, talking about the Congress member saying to Hugh Thompson, “You’re the only one that should be prosecuted for My Lai.”
LAWRENCE COLBURN: I believe that was Mendel Rivers. Well, it had a toll on Hugh. He was tormented by not only My Lai, but the way he was treated when he just told the truth and did what was morally right. People came after him and tried to discredit him. He was ostracized in the military, but he never turned his back on them. He stayed in the military. His message would be how important it is to maintain integrity and honor and honesty within the ranks of the military.
AMY GOODMAN: You returned with Hugh Thompson, you returned to Vietnam. You returned to My Lai and the whole area, and you met with the survivors, the people that you saved.
LAWRENCE COLBURN: Yes, and their offspring. Yes. ….
Bless those men and their courage in doing the right thing.
But what of a society in which the terms — CRIME and PUNISHMENT— have no logical meaning?
If the crime is committed, dripping not only with the victims’ blood but also the red, white, and blue, does that excuse whatever’s been done?
Is our citizenry so sick in mind and heart that, yesterday, they APPLAUD the jury’s decision not to give hief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr.any jail time at all, and that, for years and years, they tormented a man who tried to stop a slaughter in Vietnam?
Are we that pathologically patriotic in this country?
Is this freedom? Is this bringing people to justice?